Tablet inspection machines



V. M. HERMELIN TABLET INSPECTION MACHINES oct. 17,1961

Filed June 9, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Y 7 VICTOR M. HERMI-:LIN

INVENTOR.

ATT Y.

Oct. 17, 1961 v. M. HERMELIN 3,004,667

TABLET INSPECTION MACHINES Filed June 9, 1958 l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N wh I m W Ill" l g ,B INVENTOR. .im |31 v|cToR M. HERMEUN Oct. 17, L1961 Filed June 9, 1958 `v M. HERMELIN 3,004,667

TABLET INSPECTION MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 VICTOR M. HERMELIN 4 www ATT Y.

3,004,667 TABLET INSPECTION MACHINES Victor M. Hermelin, University City, Mo. (2503 S. Hanley Road, St. Louis 17, Mo.)

Filed June 9, 1958, Ser. No. 740,658 8 Claims. (Cl. 209-125) This invention relates in general to article handling apparatus, and, more particularly, to a tablet inspection machine. o

In the manufacture ofpharmaceuticals, it is conventional practice to apply an outer coating of colored sugar glaze to many types of tablets. This sugar glaze coating is largely for purposes of appearance and, for this reason, it is desirable that the sugar glaze coating not only have -a lustrous appearance, but also fully coat and encapsulate the drug-containing core. ordinarily manufactured-in batches, it occasionally happens that one or more of thetablets will receive an improper amount of sugar glaze coating or the coating will nited Smtes Patent O Since the coated tablets are i' not be applied uniformly to theu tablet, with the result o.

'essential that the finished tablets be thoroughly inspected before they are `packaged for shipment.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a machine which permits visual inspection of the entire surface area of a pharmaceutical tablet or similar disk-like article.

`It is also an object of the present invention to provide a machine of the type stated which automatically handles large quantities of tablets or similarobjects at a high rate of speed,; and with a minimum of attention, and, therefore, substantially reduces inspecting costs. v It is an additional object of the4 present invention to provide a machine of the type stated which` is relatively mobile and-can be easily moved to various stations within the manufacturing plant as the needs arise.

With the above andV other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing: o

PIG. l is a side elevational view of a tabletinspection machine constructedrin accordance withV and embodying the present invention;

`FIG. 2 is a topplan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view thereof; i

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8, are fragmentary sectional views taken along lines 5 5, 6 6, 7 7, and 8 8, respectively, o f FIG. 2;

FIG. `9 is `a fragmentary. sectional view taken along line 9 9 of FIG. 5; 4and "FIG 10 is a 'fragmentary sectional view taken along 3,004,667 1Patented Oct. 17, 1961 Mounted on the posts 2, 3, at the lower ends thereof are stub shafts 10, 11, for rotatably supporting` groundengaging caster wheels 12, 13, and threaded into the lower ends of the posts 4, 5, are vertically adjustable boltlike feet 14, 15. Bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to theupper ends of the posts 2, 3, 4, 5, are spaced parallel longitudinally extending top rails 16, 17, and bolted to the upwardly vpresented surfaces of the top rails 16, 17,

.are spaced parallel side channels 18, 19. The opposite ends of :the top rails 16, 17, are cross-connected by means of transversely extending end braces 20, 21, and similarly cross-connecting the opposite ends of the channels 18, 19, are yend braces 22, 23.

Bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the channels 18, 19, and extending along the upper surfaces thereof, intermediate the end braces 22, 23, are spaced parallel angle members 274, 25, and also rigidly secured to the upper faces of the channels 18, 19, are aligned bearings 26, 27, uwhich rotatably support 4a shaft 28 upon which is mounted ra conveyorroller 29. Similarly mounted on the` upper Vfaces of the channels 18, 19, in rearwardly spaced relation to the` conveyor roller 29 are spaced aligned bearings 30,` 31, for journaling a roller shaft 32, the latter-*being provided with a conveyor roller 33, and trainedaround thel conveyor rollers 29, 33, is an endless ilexible conveyor belt 34. Bolted .to the inside vertical faces of the .angle members 24, 25, are brackets 35, 36, upon which s mounted a relatively stiff rectangular fibercomposition board 37. As seen by reference to FIGS. 5

and` 7, the board 37 underlies and supports a substantial portionvof the upper run of the conveyor belt 34. Bolted to the board 37 in inwardly spaced relation-to the angle members ,24, 2'5, are spaced parallel belt gui-des 38, 39, for slidablyV contacting the lateral margins of the upper run of theconveyor b elt 34. p t

Bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the channels 18', 19, in approximate vertical alignment with the posts 4, 5, are ,spaced aligned bearings 40, |41, which journal a shaft 42V provided with a conveyor roller 43, and similarly mounted `on` the `channels 18, 19 somewhat forwardly of the posts ,2, 3', are spaced aligned bearings 44, 45, which journal a roller shaft 46, the latter being provided with a conveyorroller 47, `Rockably secured to the channels 1819., by means ofr pivot pins 48, 49, is a pair of tubulararms 50, 51, the upper ends of which receive threaded bolts 52, 53, the latter` terminating in journal-forming ends 54, 55. Rotatably mounted in the journal-forming ends 54, 55, is an idler shaft 56 having an idler roller 57 ,mountedthereon Connected at one end tothe lower'ends of eachrof the arms 50, 51, are coil springs 58, 59, -theother ends of which are connected to turnbuckles 60, 61. Theturnbuckles 60, 61, arein turn, connected to links 62, 63, which are pinned to the posts Z, V3. Trainedvaround the rollers 33, 43, 4-7, 57, isan endless flexibleconveyor belt 64, the upper run of which is in substantially facewise contact with the lower run of the conveyor belt 34. rSince the conveyor belts 34, 64,'are each trained around the roller 32 in overlapping relationship, the tension in the belt 64and its frictional contact with the belt 34 at thevroller 33 can be varied by tightening or loosening the turnbuckles 60, 61. Rigidly secured to the channels 18, 19, upwardly of the conveyor roller 47 Yarevspaced aligned bearings 65, 66, for rotatably supporting a shaft 67 upon which is rigidly mounted a driving roller 68, the latter frictionally contacting the conveyor belt 64, and also bolted to the channels 18, Y19, and extending transversely thereof is a roller guard 69. Bolted tor-the channels 18, 19, in downwardly spaced parallel relation to the lower run of the conveyor belt 34 are spaced composition boards 70, 71, which are similar to the board 37, previously described, which underlie and supporttheupper runpfthe belt 64. Rigidly bolted to the board 71 adjacent the lateral margins thereof are belt guides 72, 73,over which ride the side margins of the upper run of the belt 64?- Welded, or otherwise rigidly secured to the rails 16, 1.7, in forwardly spaced relation to the posts 2,v 3, are depending arms 74, 7 5, which are cross-connected at their lower ends by a channel 76. Rockably secured tothe posts 2', 3, by means of pins 75", 76 is an inclined motor mount 77, which includes a cross member 78', and threaded into the motor mount 77 at the forward end thereof is a bolt 78 which bears against the channel 76 and adjusts the position of the motor mount 77. Slidably mounted on the motor mount '77 are motor-supporting brackets 79, 8:0, which support a conventional electric motor 81, and welded to the brackets 79, 80, and projecting downwardly therefrom, are bolts 82, 83, which project through elongated slots 84, 85, the latter being formed in the motor vmountl 77'. The bolts 82, 83', also project through Y a Vtransversely extending angle bar 86 which is` located downwardly of the motor mount 77 and is threaded for receiving a screw 87 which projects outwardly through the cross member 78' and is provided onis outer end with a crank handle 88.

Extending outwardly from the motor 81 is a motor shaft 89 which is provided with an adjustable split-cone Ypulley- 90 having axially shiftable spring biased pulley sections 91, 92, whereby the effective operating diam,- eter can be changed by shifting the pulley sections 91, 92, toward and away from each other. Since pulleys of this type are well known in the art, the pulley 90 is not shown or described in detail. Mounted on the underside of the motor mount 77 at opposite sides thereof, are spaced aligned bearings '93, 94, which rotatably support a power shaft 9S, and mounted on the drive shaft 95 i-n alignment with the pulley 90 is a cone pulley 96.

Trained around the pulleys 90, 96, is a V-belt 97 through which power is delivered from the motor 81 to the power shaft 95. laterally outwardly of Ithe posts- 2, 3, and yis provided on its outer ends with spaced' pulleys 98, 99, the pulley 98 being in endwise alignment with a pulley 100 which is mounted on the outer endv of the shaft 67, and trained around the pulleys 98, 100, is a V-belt1 101. Similarly, ythe pulley 99 is in endwise alignment with a pulley 102 which -is mounted on the outer endv ofthe shaft* 32, and trained around the pulleys 99, 102, is a V"belt 103. It will, therefore, be apparent that the belts 101, 10-3, transmit power from the power shaft 95' tothe rollers 33, 68', so as to positivelyy drive the conveyor belts 34, 64', at the same'speed. Furthermore, by rotationY of the crank handle 88, the screw 87' will shift the motor support brackets 79, 80,r together with the motor 81, along The power shaft 95, furthermore, extends the motor mount 77, which will', in turn, axially shift the pulley sections 91, 92 thus varying the effective diameter of the pulley 90.Y In this manner,r the speed of the conveyor belts 34, 64, can be changed. i y

Welded to and extending upwardly from the channels 18, 19, adjacent the conveyor roller 29 is a pair of spaced vertical posts 104, 105, which are bolted or otherwise connected by Itransverselyj extendingv spaced cross members 106, 107, Bolted to the cross membersl 106,' 107, inv upwardly spacedl relation to the conveyor belt 34 isa feed hopper 108, which is provided with a forward vertical wall v1'09-and an inclined back wall section 1110. Mounted on the wall 109 and back wall section 110 internally of the hopper 108 are inclined balie plates 111, 112s, the lower edge of the bale plate 111 terminating in upwardly spaced ,relationship to the upper surface of the baffle-plate 112 so as to provide clearance therebetween. Hinged to the interior face of the forward wall 109 downwardly of the bale plate 111 is a swingable throttle plate 113 which is movable to a plurality of positions by means of an adjusting screw 114, the latter being threaded in a boss 1115 and projecting Youtwardly ofl the wall 109. Thus, by rot-ating the adjusting screw- 1-1"4', the angular'position of-the throttle plate 113- with respect-to the wall 109 can be varied. At its lower end, the hopper 108 is provided with a discharge opening 116, and adjacent the discharge opening 116, the forward wall 109 has a transverse mounting bar 117 welded thereto. Welded to the bar 117 and projecting therethrough are screws 118, 119,

'which also project' through the' wall 109 and through vertical .slots 120, 12,1, which are formed in a clearance plate 122 having a lower margin 123 adapted to be selectively positioned upwardly from the upper run of the conveyor belt 34. Mounted facewise against the clearance plate 122 are opposed end guides 124, 125, having arcuate ends 126, 127, which terminate adjacent the belt guides 38, 39. The lower margins of theend guides 12,4, 125, are closely spaced from the conveyor belt 34. The ends of the screws 118, 119, are suitably provided with wing nuts 128, 129, by which the clearance plate 122' and end guides 124, 1-25, can be rigidly secured to the wall 109.

` Rockably mounted on the lateral face of the top rails 16, 17, by means of pins 130, 131, and extending lengthwise therealong are elongated trays 132, 133. As seen by reference to FIGS. l and 2, the pins 130, 131, are not centrally located with respect to the length of each tray 132, 133, and the upper edges ofthe trays 132, 133, along the short portions 134,135, thereof normally abut the vertical posts 104, 105. Mounted on the channel 18 and angle member 25 somewhat adjacent the trays are elongated flexible 'actuator bars 136, 137, -which may be depressed so as toractuate microswitches S, S thereunder and shut olf the motorl 81. l

' In use, a pluralityy of tablets T are charged into the hopper 108, and tablets Twill pass in the space between the baille plates 111, 112, and between the hopper wall '1419 and theA throttle plate 113, and, thereafter, drop downwardly through the opening 116 onto the upper run of the conveyor belt 34. The tablets T then pass under the clearance plate 122, and, While traveling on the upper run of the conveyor belt 34, the upper sides u of the tablets T can be inspected for imperfections. The tablets T then pass between the belts 34, 64, and, as the two belts 34, 64, go around the roller 38, the tablets T are snugly and immovably confined therebetween. The tablets T remain confined between the belts 34, 64, as they travel from the roller 33 to the roller 29. As the tablets T' move forwardly of the roller 29, they will no longer be conned between the two beltsr 34, 64, but will be wholly supported by the belt 64 with their lower sides L presented upwardly so that inspection thereof can be made.V Any tablets which have been found to be defective can be readily scooped off of either the upper run of the belt 34 or the upper run of the Abelt 64 and deposited on the trays 132, 133, lwhile the remaining tablets are conveyed to an inclined discharge chute 138 which is mounted on the posts 4, 5. I'f' desired, one ofthe actuator bars 136, 137, may be momentarily depressed to shut olf the motor 81, allowing one or more tablets T to be easily removed from either of the belts 34, 64. When it is desired to empty the trays 132, 133, they may be rotated about the pins 130, 131, so thatl the short portions 134, 135, extend downwardly, allowing the rejected'tablets to pass olf into a suitable receptacle (not shown). In connection with thepresent invention,y it should be noted that the. elevation of the clearance plate 122 is adjusted so'that its lower margin 123 isspaced from the upper run of the conveyor belt 34 by a distance very slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets T. Thus, the clearance plate, 122 prevents; the tablets T fromoverlapping on the beltv 34 and allows them to be spread out somewhat evenly over the width ofthe belt 34. The clearance plate 122 also prevents oversized tablets T' from passing onto the belt 34. If the rate of feed ofthe tablets T is too high, the throttle plate 113 can be adjusted by the screw 114Yso as to avoid clogging of the tablets T within the hopper 108. The machine A can be easily moved to various stations within a pharmaceutical plant by merely lifting up the discharge end and rolling the machine A on vthe casters 12, 13.

f It will also be apparent that while the machine A'is particularly useful for inspecting pharmaceutical tablets, it may also'be'utilized in other manufacturing operations wherein it is desired to successively expose the upper and lower surfaces of small disk or plate-like articles. i. It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, constructions, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the tablet inspection machines may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described vwithout departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by letters patent is:

irl.k A device of the `character described comprising a rst endless conveyor for-moving a plurality of objects therealong with the Yupper`surfaces of said objects exposed, said Yfirst conveyor having a flat upper run, a hopper mounted above the upper run, said hopper consisting of a plurality of inclined baille plates, one terminating in upwardly spaced relation to the upper surface of another to provide clearance'therebetween, a swingable throttle plate with adjusting means, a dischargetopening directly above saidupper run, a transverse mounting guide for causing discrete objects' in said hopper to ow out of the hopperV mouth in a single layer, a secondendless conveyor of substantially greaterlength than said first conveyor and *having a portion thereof in overlapping ,alignment with the first conveyor, said first and' secondconveyors co-operating at their overlapping portions to grip Ithe opposite sides of said objects and invert them as the'conveyors advance, said second conveyor .also being adapted to vmore said inverted objects therealong with their lower surfaces upwardly presented and exposed, and means for driving said lirst and second conveyors at the same speed.

2. A device of the character described comprising a pair of spaced rollers, a lirst endless belt trained around said rollers and having an upper run and a lower run, a second pair of spaced rollers, Ia second endless belt trained around said pair of rollers and also trained around one of said tlirst pair of rollers in overlying relation to said first belt, the upper run of said second belt being substantially longer than the lower run of said first belt and being in slightly spaced underlying relation thereto, means for driving said belts at the same speed, a hopper mounted above the upper run of the rst endless belt, said hopper consisting of a plurality of inclined bafe plates, one terminating in upwardly spaced relation to the upper surface of another to provide clearance therebetween, a swingable throttle plate with adjusting means, a discharge opening directly above said upper run, and a transverse mounting guide for causing discrete objects in said hopper to ow out of the hopper mouth in a single layer for delivering a plurality of said objects to the upper run of the rst belt so that said objects will be carried thereby with their upper surfaces exposed, said first and second belts `being adapted to grip said objects and invert them as said belts pass around said one of the first pair of rollers, said second belt also being adapted to move said objects past the other of said first pair of rollers with the lower surfaces of said objects upwardly presented and exposed.

3. A device of the character described comprising a pair of spaced rollers, a irst endless belt trained around said rollers and having an upper run and a lower run, a second pair of spaced rollers, a second endless belt trained around said pair of rollers and also trained around one of said first pair of rollers in overlying relation to said rst belt, the upper run of said second belt being substantially longer than the lower run of said first belt and being in slightly spaced underlying relation thereto, means for drivin g said belts at the same speed, shiftable spring-biased pulley means for adjusting the speed of said belts, a hopper positioned upwardly of the other of said first pair of rollersffsaidfhopper consisting of a plurality of inclined baille plates`one terminating in upwardlys'paced vrelation to the upper surface of another to provide clearance therebetween, said hopper capable of delivering a plurality of` objects directlyruponthe upper run :of said first belt so that said objects will be' carried thereby with-their upper surfaces exposed, and throttle means in said hopper for controlling the flow -of objects onto. said first belt, said first and secondbelts being adapted to grip said objects Aand invert them as said belts pass around said one of the first pair of rollers, said second belt also being adapted to move said objects past the other of said first pair Vof rollers with the lower surfaces of said objects up# wardly presented and exposed. Y

4. A device of the character described comprising a frame, arhopper mounted on'said frame and adapted to hold a plurality of l objects, said Yhopper being provided with a downwardly presented discharge opening, a pluralityr of spaced overlapping baille plates mounted in said hopper, Va throttle plate swingably mountedin said hopper for controlling the flow of objects through said discharge opening, a clearance plate operatively mounted on Vsaid hopper-adjacent said discharge opening, means for receiv# ingsaidtobjects from saidhopper and conveying said objects along a-.predetermined path, meansfor inverting said objects, and means for conveying said inverted -objects along another predetermined path.

5. A device of the character, described-comprising a pair of spaced rollers, a first endlessbelt trained around said rollers and havingl an upper runand a lower run, a second pair of spaced rollers,"a `secondendless belt trained around s aidpair of rollers and also trained around one of said first pair of`rollers in overlying'relation to 'said rst belt, the upper run .of said second Vbelt being substantially longer than the lower run of Vsaid first belt-and being in slightly spaced underlying relation thereto, means for driving said belts at the same speed, shiftable spring-biased pulley means for adjusting the speed of said belts, belttensioning means for urging said second belt against said rst belt at said one of the first pair of rollers, means for delivering a plurality of objects to the upper run of the first belt so that said objects will be carried thereby with their upper surfaces exposed, said rst and second belts being adapted to grip said objects and invert them as said belts pass around said one of the first pair of rollers, said second belt also being adapted to move said objects past the other of said first pair of rollers with the lower surfaces of said objects upwardly presented and exposed, and at least one tray operatively mounted adjacent said belts and extending lengthwise therealong.

6. A device of the character described comprising a frame, a hopper mounted on said frame and adapted to hold a plurality of objects, said hopper being provided with a downwardly presented discharge opening, a plurality of spaced overlapping baille plates mounted in saidl hopper, a throttle plate swingably mounted in said hopper for controlling the flow of objects through said discharge opening, a clearance plate operatively mounted on said hopper adjacent said discharge opening, a pair of spaced rollers, a first endless belt trained around said rollers and having an upper run and a lower run, a second pair of spaced rollers, a second endless belt trained around said pair of rollers and also trained around one of said first pair of rollers in overlying relation Vto said first belt, the upper run of said second belt being substantially longer than the lower run of said first belt and being in slightly spaced underlying relation thereto, means for driving said belts at the same speed, and means for delivering a plurality of objects from the hopper to the upper run of the first `belt so that said objects will be carried thereby with their upper surfaces exposed, said first and second belts being adapted to grip said objects and invert them as said belts pass around said one of the first pair of rollers, said second belt also being adapted to move said objects past the other ofs'aidirst ofrollers with the lower surfaces of:V said objects upwardly presentedv and exposed. -7.`A 'device' of 'the characterzdescribed.comprising 'a pairl of spacedfrollers, afirst, endlessfbelt trained aroundv said rollersand having an upperlrun and a lower run, a second pair-of spaced rollers,l a second. endless belt trained around said pair. ofV rollers. .andal'so trained around one of said iirstv pairof rollers inoverlying relation to said lirst belt, the upper run of said second belt being sub.-v stantially longer than the.- lower run of said first belt and being in slightly spaced underlyingv relation thereto, means forV driving said belts at, the same speed, belt-tensioning means: for urging said; second belt against said rst belt at said one of the rst pair of rollers means; for delivering a. plurality of objects tothe upper run of the iirst belt. so. that said objects will be carried thereby with their uppfer surfaces exposed, said lirst and' second beltsfbeing adapted to` grip said objectsland; invertj thern'as said belts pass aroundl said one of the Hirst pail: of'rollers, said secondj belt also being adaptedy to move said objects past the other of said rst pair-oli rollers with the. lower surfaces of saidi objectsv upwardly presented and exposed, and at, least` one. tray .rotatably mounted adjacent-'said belts and extending lengthwisel therealong in laterally outwardly projecting relation to one :side-margin 'of said beltsfso thatwhen objects. are lifted from the belts and placed on the tray theymay be discharged from the tray and away from the belts by tilting the tray. n

' 8; A device of the character described comprising a pair of spaced rollers, a 'rst endless belt trained around said rollers andjhaving an upper run and a lower run,` a second pair of spaced rollers, a second endless belt trained around said pair of rollers and also trained around one of said. rst. pair of,A rollers in overlying relation to said lfO ., 8 first belt, vtlie upper "of said' second belt being. substantially. longer than thelower-'run of said rst. belt and being 'in slightly spaced underlying relation thereto, means for driving said belts at the same. speed, belt-tensioning means for urging said second belt against said rst belt at said oneV of the tlrst pair of rollers, means: for delivering a plurality: or objects tothe upper run of the rst belt sothat. said objects will be carried thereby with their upper surfaces exposed=,.said` rst. and. second belts being adapted. to grip said objects. and invert them as said belts pass. aroundsaidone of the rstpair of rollers, said sec. ond belt also being adapted to move. said objects. past the other of said first pair of rollers with the lower surfaces of said objects. upwardly presented and exposed, a plurality of trays each being rotatably mounted adjacent. said belts and extending lengthwisey therealongzin laterally outwardly projecting relation to..one;side"r margin of said belts. so that. when objects `are lifted. from thel belts and placed on the trays they may be. discharged frornthe. trays and away from the belts by' tiltingtlzlev trays. 

